IN THE POWER OF DARKNESS.
Ralph slept, hour after hour. He dreamed, and moved his hands uneasily
at intervals, but still he slept. There were no noises there to
disturb him, and he had been very tired.
When he finally awoke the waking was as gentle as though he had been
lying on his own bed at home. He thought, at first, that he was at
home; and he wondered why it was so very dark. Then he remembered that
he was shut up in the mines. It was a cruel remembrance, but it was
a fact and he must make the best of it. While he slept his oil had
burned out, and he was in total darkness. He felt for his oil-can and
found it. Then he found his lamp, filled it by the sense of touch, and
lighted it. He always carried matches; they had done him good service
in the mines before this. He was very thankful too, that he had
thought to bring the oil-can. Without it he would have been long ago
in the power of darkness. He was still hungry, and thirsty too, very
thirsty now, indeed.
He arose and tried to walk, but he was so dizzy that he had to sit
down again. He felt better after a little, though, very much better
than before he had taken his rest. He wondered how long he had slept,
and what progress was being made, if any, toward his rescue. He went
down to the opening in the wall, and held his lamp up to it. Threads
of smoke were still curling in through the slate and culm, and the air
that crept in was very bad. Then, for a little time, Ralph sat there
and listened. He thought that possibly he might hear some distant
sound of rescue. But there was no noise; the silence was burdensome.
His thirst increased and he was hot and feverish.
At last he rose with the determination to carry out his plan of
searching for the old slope.
He knew that it would be worse than useless to stay here.
Besides, he hoped that he might find a stream of water on the way at
which to quench his thirst.
He thought of the letter in his pocket, and the desire grew strong
within him to read it again. He took it out, unfolded it, and held it
close to the light, but there seemed to be a mist before his eyes and
he could not distinguish the words. He knew what it contained, though,
and that was sufficient for him. He was Robert Burnham's son. His
father had been brave and manly; so would he be. His father would have
kept up heart and courage to the end, no matter what fate faced him.
He determined that the son should do no less. He would be worthy of
his parentage, he would do all that lay in his power to accomplish his
own safety; if he failed, the fault should not be his.
He folded and replaced the letter, picked up his oil-can, fastened
his lamp to his cap and started down the chamber. He felt that he was
strong with the strength of inspiration. It seemed to him, too, that
he was very light in body. It seemed almost as though he were treading
on air, and he thought that he was moving very fast.
In reality his steps were heavy and halting, and his way down the long
chamber was devious and erratic. His fancied strength and elasticity
were born of the fever in his blood.
He came to the heading. He knew, now, which way to turn, and he passed
down it in what he thought was rapid flight.
But here was the fall again. What was to be done now? His last attempt
to get around it had been disastrous. He would not try that plan
again. He would work his way through it this time and keep to the
heading.
He climbed slowly up over the fallen rock and coal and let himself
down upon the other side. But it took his breath away, this climbing,
and he had to wait there a little while to recover it. There was a
clear space before him, though, and he made good progress through it
till he came again to the fall.
In this place the rock was piled higher and it was more difficult of
ascent. But he clambered bravely up, dragging his oil-can with him;
then he moved out along the smooth, sloping surfaces of fallen slate,
keeping as close as possible to the wall of the heading, climbing
higher and higher, very slowly now, and with much labor, stopping
often to rest.
He came, at last, to a place where the space between the fallen rock
and the roof above it was so narrow that he could scarcely squeeze his
slender body through it. When he had done so he found himself on the
edge of a precipice, a place where a solid mass had fallen like a
wall, and had made a shelf so high that the feeble rays of Ralph's
lamp would not reach to the bottom of it. The boy crawled, trembling,
along the edge of this cliff, trying to find some place for descent.
The oil-can that he carried made his movements cumbersome; the surface
of the rock was smooth and hard to cling to; his limbs were weak and
his fingers nerveless.
He slipped, the can fell from his hand, he tried to recover it,
slipped further, made a desperate effort to save himself, failed, and
went toppling over into the darkness.
The height was not very great, and he was not seriously injured by
the fall; but it stunned him, and he lay for some time in a state of
unconsciousness.
When he came to himself, he knew what had happened and where he was.
He tried to rise, but the effort pained him and he lay back again. He
was in total darkness. His lamp had fallen from his cap and become
extinguished. He reached out to try and find it and his hand came in
contact with a little stream of water. The very touch of it refreshed
him. He rolled over, put his mouth to it and drank. It was running
water, cool and delicious, and he was very, very thankful for it.
In the stream he found his lamp. The lid had flown open, the oil was
spilled out, and the water had entered. The can was not within reach
of him as he lay. He raised himself to his hands and knees and groped
around for it. He began to despair of ever finding it. It would be
terrible, he thought, to lose it now, and be left alone in the dark.
But at last he came upon it and picked it up. It was very light; he
felt for the plug, it was gone; he turned the can upside down, it was
empty.
For the moment his heart stopped beating; he could almost feel the
pallor in his face, he could almost see the look of horror in his own
eyes. From this time forth he would be in darkness. It was not enough
that he was weak, sick, lost and alone in the mysterious depths of
this old mine, but now darkness had come, thick darkness to crown his
suffering and bar his path to freedom. His self-imposed courage had
almost given way. It required matchless bravery to face a peril such
as this without a murmur, and still find room for hope.
But he did his best. He fought valiantly against despair.
It occurred to him that he still had matches. He drew them from his
pocket and counted them. There were seven.
He poured the water from the chamber of his lamp and pulled out the
wick and pressed it. He thought that possibly he might make it burn a
little longer without oil. He selected one of the matches and struck
it against the rock at his side. It did not light. The rock was wet
and the match was spoiled.
The next one he lighted by drawing it swiftly across the sleeve of his
jacket. But the light was wasted; the cotton wick was still too wet to
ignite.
There was nothing left to him, then, save the matches, and they would
not light him far. But it was better to go even a little way than to
remain here.
He rose to his feet and struck a match on his sleeve, but it broke
short off at the head, and the sputtering sulphur dropped into the
stream and was quenched. He struck another, this time with success.
He saw the heading; the way was clear; and he started on, holding one
hand out before him, touching at frequent intervals the lower wall of
the passage with the other.
But his side pained him when he tried to walk: he had struck it
heavily in his last fall; and he had to stop in order to relieve it.
After a time he arose again, but in the intense darkness and with that
strange confusion in his brain, he could not tell in which direction
to go.
He lighted another match; it sputtered and went out.
He had two matches left. To what better use could he put them than to
make them light him as far as possible on his way? He struck one of
them, it blazed up, and with it he lighted the stick of the imperfect
one which he had not thrown away. He held them up before him, and,
shielding the blaze with his hand, he moved rapidly down the narrow
passage.
He knew that he was still in the heading and that if he could but
follow it he would, in time, reach the slope.
His light soon gave out; darkness surrounded him again, but he kept
on.
He moved from side to side of the passage, feeling his way.
His journey was slow, very slow and painful, but it was better to keep
going, he knew that.
He had one match left but he dared not light it. He wanted to reserve
that for a case of greater need.
The emergency that called for its use soon arose.
The heading seemed to have grown suddenly wider. He went back and
forth across it and touched all the pillars carefully. The way was
divided. One branch of the gallery bore to the right and another to
the left.
Straight ahead was a solid wall. Ralph did not know which passage to
enter. To go into one would be to go still farther and deeper into the
recesses of the old mine; to go into the other would be to go toward
the slope, toward the outer world, toward his mother and his home.
If he could only see he could choose more wisely.
Had the necessity arisen for the use of his last match?
He hesitated. He sat down to rest and to consider the question. It
was hard to think, though, with all that whirling and buzzing in his
fever-stricken brain.
Then a scheme entered his mind, a brilliant scheme by which he
should get more light. He resolved to act upon it without delay. He
transferred everything from the pockets of his jacket to those of his
waistcoat. Then he removed this outer garment, tore a portion of it
into strips, and held it in one hand while he made ready to light his
last match. He held his breath while he struck it.
It did not light.
He waited a minute to think. Then he struck it again, this time with
success. He touched it to the rags of his coat, and the oil-soaked
cloth flashed brightly into flame. He held the blazing jacket in his
hand, looked around him for one moment to choose his way, and then
began to run.
It was a travesty on running, to be sure, but it was the best he could
do. He staggered and stumbled; he lurched rapidly ahead for a little
space and then moved with halting steps. His limbs grew weak, his
breath came in gasps, and the pain in his side was cutting him like a
knife.
But he thought he was going very rapidly. He could see so nicely too.
The flames, fanned by the motion, curled up and licked his hand and
wrist, but he scarcely knew it.
Then his foot struck some obstacle in the way and he fell. For a
moment he lay there panting and helpless, while the burning cloth,
thrown from him in his fall, lighted up the narrow space around him
till it grew as clear as day. But all this splendid glow should not be
wasted; it would never do; he must make it light him on his journey
till the last ray was gone.
He staggered to his feet again and ran on into the ever growing
darkness. Behind him the flames flared, flickered, and died slowly
out, and when the last vestige of light was wholly gone he sank,
utterly exhausted, to the floor of the mine, and thick darkness
settled on him like a pall.
A long time he lay there wondering vaguely at his strange misfortunes.
The fever in his blood was running high, and, instead of harboring
sober thought, his mind was filled with fleeting fancies.
It was very still here, so still that he thought he heard the
throbbing in his head. He wondered if it could be heard by others who
might thus find where he lay.
Then fear came on him, fear like an icy hand clutching at his breast,
fear that would not let him rest, but that brought him to his feet
again and urged him onward.
To die, that was nothing; he could die if need be; but to be shut up
here alone, with strange and unseen things hovering about him in the
blackness, that was quite beyond endurance. He was striving to get
away from them. He had not much thought, now, which way he went, he
cared little for direction, he wished only to keep in motion.
He had to stop at times to get breath and to rest his limbs, they
ached so. But, whenever he stood still or sat down to rest, the
darkness seemed to close in upon him and around him so tightly as to
give him pain. He would not have cared so much for that, though, if it
had not been filled with strange creatures who crept close to him to
hear the throbbing in his head. He could not bear that; it compelled
him to move on.
He went a long way like this, with his hands before him, stumbling,
falling, rising again, stopping for a moment's rest, moaning as he
walked, crying softly to himself at times like the sick child that he
was.
Once he felt that he was going down an inclined way, like a long
chamber; there had been no prop or pillar on either side of him for
many minutes. Finally, his feet touched water. It grew to be ankle
deep. He pushed on, and it reached half-way to his knees. This would
never do. He turned in his tracks to retreat, just saved himself
from falling, and then climbed slowly back up the long slope of the
chamber.
When he had reached the top of it he thought he would lie down and try
not to move again, he was so very tired and sick.
In the midst of all his fancies he realized his danger. He knew that
death had ceased to be a possibility for him, and had come to be more
than probable.
He felt that it would be very sad indeed to die in this way, alone,
in the dark, in the galleries of this old mine; it was not the way
Robert Burnham's son should have died. It was not that he minded
death so much; he would not have greatly cared for that, if he could
only have died in his mother's arms, with the sweet sunlight and the
fresh air and the perfume of flowers in the room. That, he thought,
would have been beautiful, very beautiful indeed. But this, this was
so different.
"It is very sad," he said; "poor Ralph, poor boy."
He was talking to himself. It seemed to him that he was some one else,
some one who stood by trying to pity and console this child who was
dying here alone in the awful darkness.
"It's hard on you," he said, "I know it's hard on you, an' you've
just got to where life'd be worth a good deal to you too. You had
your bitter an' the sweet was just a-comin'; but never mind, my boy,
never mind; your Uncle Billy says 'at heaven's a great sight better
place 'an any you could ever find on earth. An', then, you're Robert
Burnham's son, you know, an' that's a good deal to think of;
you're--Robert Burnham's--son."
For a long time after this there was silence, and the boy did not
move. Then fear came back to him. He thought that the darkness was
closing in again upon him, that it pressed him from above, from right
and left, that it crowded back his breath and crushed his body. He
felt that he must escape from it.
He was too weak now to rise and walk, so he lifted himself to his
hands and knees and began to move away like a creeping child.
There were many obstacles in his path, some of them imaginary, most of
them real. There were old mine caps, piles of dirt, pieces of slate,
and great lumps of coal on' which he cut his hands and bruised his
knees. But he met and passed them all. He was intent only on getting
away from these dreadful powers of darkness, they tortured him so.
And he did get away from them. He came to a place where the space
about him seemed large, where the floor was smooth, and the air so
clear and pure that he could breathe it freely.
Utter darkness, indeed, surrounded him, but it was a darkness not
peopled with evil beings; it was more like the sweet darkness of a
summer night, with the fragrance of dew-wet flowers in the air.
He leaned against a pillar to rest. He thought to stay here until the
end should come.
He was not suffering from any pain now; he was glad of that. And he
should die peacefully, leaving no wrong behind him, with no guilt
upon his conscience, no sin upon his soul. He was glad of that too.
He wondered if they would know, when they found his body, that he was
Robert Burnham's son. Suppose they should never find it out. Suppose
the days and months and years should pass away, and no one ever know
what high honor came to him while yet he lived on earth. That would be
sad, very, very sad; worse even than death itself. But there was a way
for him to make it known. He thought that some sweet voice was telling
him what to do.
He took from his waistcoat pocket the paper that declared his birth,
unfolded it once, pressed it to his lips once, took pins from the edge
of the collar of his vest, and pinned the letter fast upon the bosom
of his flannel shirt.
It took him a long time to do this in the darkness, his hands were so
very weak and tremulous, but, when it was done, he smoothed the paper
over carefully and was content.
"They'll know it now," he said gently to himself, "they'll surely know
it now. They'll no sooner find me here than they'll know who I am, an'
who my mother is, an' where to take me. It's just the same, just the
same as though I was alive myself to tell 'em."
He leaned back then, and closed his eyes and lay quite still. He felt
no pain from his cut and bleeding hands and knees, nor from his burned
wrist, nor from his bruised body. He was not hungry any more, nor
thirsty, nor suffering for breath. He was thinking, but he thought
only of pleasant things. He remembered no evil, neither any person who
had done him evil.
Off somewhere in the distance he could see blue sky, and the tips of
waves glancing in the sunlight, and green fields, and long stretches
of yellow grain. It seemed very real to him, so real that he wondered
if he was still lying there in the darkness. He opened his eyes to
see. Yes, it was dark, very dark.
The faint noise of dripping water came to his ears from somewhere in
the mine below him. It reminded him of a tiny waterfall he had once
seen under the shadow of a great rock on the bank of Roaring Brook.
It was where a little stream, like a silver thread, ran down across
the mossy covering of the edge and went drip, dripping into the
stone-walled basin far below. He wondered if the stream was running
there this day, if the tall rock-oak was bending yet above it, if the
birds sang there as gayly as they sang that happy day when first he
saw it.
For a little time he thought that he was indeed there. He found it
hard to make himself believe that he was still in the mine, alone. But
he was not alone; he knew that he was not alone. He felt that friends
were somewhere near him. They were staying back in the shadow so that
they should not disturb him. They would come to him soon, when--when
he should waken.
He did not move any more, his eyes were closed and he seemed to be
sleeping. His breath came gently, in long respirations. The precious
letter rose and fell with the slow heaving of his breast.
Down in the darkness the water dripped as placidly as pulses beat. For
the rest there was no sound, no motion.
Once the boy stirred a little and opened his eyes.
"Is that you, Uncle Billy?" he said. "Come an' sit down an' rest a
little, an' then we'll go out. I think I got lost or--or somethin'."
His Uncle Billy was not there. The darkness about him held no human
being save himself, but the vision was just as real to him, and the
coming was just as welcome as though it had all been true.
"Why, how strange you look, Uncle Billy; an' you're a-laughin' at
me--what! does she? Well, I'll go to her just as soon as I get out,
just as soon. How did she find it out? I was goin' to be the first to
tell her. I'm glad she knows it, though."
After a moment he continued:--
"Oh, no, Uncle Billy; I shouldn't ever do that, I couldn't. You've
been too good to me. You've been awful good to me, Uncle Billy--awful
good."
Again silence fell. Thick darkness, like a veil, wrapped the
unconscious child in its folds. Black walls and winding galleries
surrounded him, the "valley of the shadow" lay beyond him, but on his
breast he bore the declaration of his birth, and in his heart he felt
that "peace of God which passeth understanding."
Down in the darkness the water dripped; up in the earth's sky the
stars were out and the moon was shining.